The present invention is directed generally to vehicle seating. More particularly, the invention is directed to a vehicle seat suspension employing a scissors suspension assembly and having an integrated isolator system that is stabilized to enhance seat suspension performance.
It is now common in vehicle seat technology to provide mechanisms or systems that reduce the undesirable effects of forces inputted to the seat from the front, back or sides. These so called “isolators,” both “fore and aft” and “lateral” varieties, commonly have an isolator plate with side tracks that travels in a reciprocal manner on a set of rollers. These conventional isolators, however, suffer from certain disadvantages. Because of dimensional and tolerance constraints, these prior art isolator systems have a tendency to cant or “rack,” increasing the interference and friction between the tracks and rollers. In addition, when the vehicle is on uneven terrain, which is often the case with off-the-road vehicles, the isolator tracks may bear against the sides of rollers, again generating undesirable interference and friction. Either or both of these problems can reduce the useful life of the suspension or require repair. Finally, the prior art isolators may cause a perceived “looseness” in the seat ride which is undesirable to the occupant.
Recently, an improved vehicle seat isolator with lateral stabilization has been introduced to the market and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,142. While the disclosed apparatus is functionally satisfactory, the disclosed scissors suspension assembly and isolator are separate components thereby adding to its cost and space requirements.